Acts of the Apostles

Acts of the Apostles. The fifth Book of the NT. It outlines the mission of the Church from the Ascension of Christ to St Paul's visit to Rome, c.AD 62. It is generally admitted to be the work of St Luke (q.v.). Its composition is variously dated, but most critics would probably settle for the 80s. This is late enough to allow for the idealized picture of the nascent Church, but prior to systematic persecution by the Roman authorities. The so-called ‘We-sections’ (16: 10–17; 20: 5–15; 21: 1–18; 27: 1–28: 16) may have come from the author's travel-diary, revealing him as an eye-witness of many of the events he related; alternatively, the use of the first person may derive from one of his sources or from his desire to achieve vividness in his narrative.

The Book emphasizes the Divine origin of Christianity. The Apostles affirm that Jesus is the Messiah, proclaimed as such by His Resurrection. Salvation is offered through Him, though it is less clearly associated with His death than it is by Paul. Belief in the Divine status of Christ is reflected, notably in the title ‘Lord’. According to Acts the Church from the beginning had her own rites of Baptism for the remission of sins (2: 38) and of the ‘breaking of bread’ (2: 42; the term used for the Eucharist). It seems to have been governed at first only by Apostles, to whom the ‘Seven’ were added later (6: 1–6), as well as presbyters and bishops, the latter two not yet distinguished. The picture of the Church given in Acts is probably substantially reliable, however partial.